The effect of artificial light at night (ALAN) on the characteristics of diapause of Aedes albopictus.

BACKGROUND: Recently, the effect of artificial light at night (ALAN) on the physiology and behavior of insects has gradually attracted the attention of researchers and has become a new research topic. Aedes albopictus is an important vector that poses a great public health risk. Further studies on the diapause of Ae. albopictus can provide a basis for new vector control, and it is also worth exploring whether the effect of ALAN on the diapause of Ae. albopictus will provide a reference for the prevention and control of infectious diseases mediated by Ae. albopictus. METHODS: In this study, we experimentally studied the diapause characteristics of different geographical strains of Ae. albopictus under the interference of ALAN, explored the effect of ALAN on the diapause of Ae. albopictus and explored the molecular mechanism of ALAN on the diapause process through RNA-seq. RESULTS: As seen from the diapause incidence, Ae. albopictus of the same geographic strain showed a lower diapause incidence when exposed to ALAN. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mainly enriched in signaling and metabolism-related pathways in the parental females and diapause eggs of the ALAN group. CONCLUSIONS: ALAN inhibits Ae. albopictus diapause. In the short photoperiod induced diapause of Ae. albopictus in temperate strain Beijing and subtropical strain Guangzhou, the disturbance of ALAN reduced the egg diapause rate and increased the egg hatching rate of Ae. albopictus, and the disturbance of ALAN also shortened the life cycle of Ae. albopictus eggs after hatching.

The predicted potential distribution of Aedes albopictus in China under the shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP)1-2.6.

Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) is one of the 100 most invasive species in the world and represents a significant threat to public health. The distribution of Ae. albopictus has been expanding rapidly due to increased international trade, population movement, global warming and accelerated urbanization. Consequently, it is very important to know the potential distribution area of Ae. albopictus in advance for early warning and control of its spread and invasion. We randomly selected 282 distribution sites from 27 provincial-level administrative regions in China, and used the GARP and MaxEnt models to analyze and predict the current and future distribution areas of Ae. albopictus in China. The results showed that the current range of Ae. albopictus in China covers most provinces such as Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, and the distribution of Ae. albopictus in border provinces such as Tibet, Gansu and Jilin Provinces tend to expand westwards. In addition, the potential distribution area of Ae. albopictus in China will continue to expand westwards due to future climate change under the SSP126 climate scenario. Furthermore, the results of environmental factor filtering showed that temperature and precipitation had a large effect on the distribution probability of Ae. albopictus.

Genetic Diversity and Population Genetic Structure of Aedes albopictus in the Yangtze River Basin, China.

Aedes albopictus is an indigenous primary vector of dengue and Zika viruses in China. Understanding the population spatial genetic structure, migration, and gene flow of vector species is critical to effectively preventing and controlling vector-borne diseases. The genetic variation and population structure of Ae. albopictus populations collected from 22 cities along the Yangtze River Basin were investigated with nine microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial CoxI gene. The polymorphic information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.534 to 0.871. The observed number of alleles (Na) values ranged from 5.455 to 11.455, and the effective number of alleles (Ne) values ranged from 3.106 to 4.041. The Shannon Index (I) ranged from 1.209 to 1.639. The observed heterozygosity (Ho) values ranged from 0.487 to 0.545. The FIS value ranged from 0.047 to 0.212. All Ae. albopictus populations were adequately allocated to three clades with significant genetic differences. Haplotype 2 is the most primitive molecular type and forms 26 other haplotypes after one or more site mutations. The rapid expansion of high-speed rail, aircraft routes and highways along the Yangtze River Basin have accelerated the dispersal and communication of mosquitoes, which appears to have contributed to inhibited population differentiation and promoted genetic diversity among Ae. albopictus populations.

Fine-scale genetic structure and wolbachia infection of aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Nanjing city, China.

Background: Aedes albopictus is an indigenous primary vector of dengue and Zika viruses in China. Wolbachia is a gram-negative and common intracellular bacteria, which is maternally inherited endosymbionts and could expand their propagation in host populations by means of various manipulations. Compared with research on the dispersion of Ae. albopictus at the macrospatial level (mainly at the country or continent level), little is known about its variation and Wolbachia infection at the microspatial level, which is essential for its management. Meanwhile, no local cases of dengue fever have been recorded in the history of Nanjing, which implies that few adulticides have been applied in the city. Thus, the present study examines how the Ae. albopictus population varies and the Wolbachia infection status of each population among microspatial regions of Nanjing City. Methods: The genetic structure of 17 Aedes albopictus populations collected from urban, urban fringe, and rural regions of Nanjing City was investigated based on 9 microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial coxI gene. The Wolbachia infection status of each population was also assessed with Wolbachia A- and Wolbachia B-specific primers. Results: Nine out of 58 tested pairs of microsatellite markers were highly polymorphic, with a mean PIC value of 0.560, and these markers were therefore chosen for microsatellite genotyping analysis. The Na value of each Ae. albopictus population was very high, and the urban area populations (7.353 ± 4.975) showed a lower mean value than the urban fringe region populations (7.866 ± 5.010). A total of 19 coxI haplotypes were observed among 329 Ae. albopictus individuals via haplotype genotyping, with the highest diversity observed among the urban fringe Ae. albopictus populations (Hd = 0.456) and the lowest among the urban populations (Hd = 0.277). Each Ae. albopictus population showed significant departure from HWE, and significant population expansion was observed in only three populations from the urban (ZSL), urban fringe (HAJY), and rural areas (HSZY) (p < 0.05). Combined with DAPC analysis, all the Ae. albopictus populations were adequately allocated to two clades with significant genetic differences according to population structure analysis, and the best K value was equal to two. AMOVA results showed that most (96.18%) of the genetic variation detected in Ae. albopictus occurred within individuals (FIT = 0.22238, p < 0.0001), while no significant positive correlation was observed via isolation by distance (IBD) analysis (R 2 = 0.03262, p = 0.584). The TCS network of all haplotypes showed that haplotype 1 (H1) and haplotype 4 (H4) were the most frequent haplotypes among all populations, and the haplotype frequency significantly increased from urban regions (36.84%) to rural regions (68.42%). Frequent migration was observed among Ae. albopictus populations from rural to urban regions via the urban fringe region, with four direct migration routes between rural and urban regions. Furthermore, Wolbachia genotyping results showed that most of the individuals of each population were coinfected with Wolbachia A and Wolbachia B. The independent infection rate of Wolbachia A was slightly higher than that of Wolbachia B, and no significant differences were observed among different regions. Conclusion: In the microspatial environment of Nanjing City, the urban fringe region is an important region for the dispersion of Ae. albopictus populations between rural and urban areas, and Wolbachia A and Wolbachia B coinfection is the most common Wolbachia infection status in all Ae. albopictus populations among different regions.

Screening and analysis of immune-related genes of Aedes aegypti infected with DENV2.

Dengue virus type Ⅱ (DENV2) is a primary serotype responsible for the dengue fever epidemic, and Aedes aegypti is the main DENV2 vector. Understanding the Aedes aegypti immune mechanism against DENV2 is the basis for research on immune blockade in mosquitoes. Some preliminary studies lack validation in the literature, so this study was performed to further study and validate the potential target genes to provide a further basis for screening key target genes. We screened 51 genes possibly related to Aedes aegypti infection and immunity from the literature for further verification. First, bioinformatic methods such as GO, KEGG and PPI analysis were used, and then RT-qPCR was used to detect the changes in mRNA expression in the midguts and salivary glands of Aedes aegypti infected with DENV2.Bioinformatic analysis showed that mostly genes of the glucose metabolism pathway and myoprotein were influenced. In salivary glands, the Gst (xa) and Toll (xb) expression levels were significantly correlated with DENV2 load (y, lg[DENV2 RNA copies]), y = -3436xa+0.2287xb+3.8194 (adjusted R2 = 0.5563, F = 9.148, PF = 0.0045). In midguts, DENV2 load was significantly correlated with the relative Fba(R2 = 0.4381, t = 2.497, p < 0.05, df = 8), UcCr(R2 = 0.4072, t = 2.344, p < 0.05, df = 8) and Gbps1(R2 = 0.4678, t = 2.652, p < 0.05, df = 8) expression levels, but multiple regression did not yield significant results. This study shows that genes related to glucose metabolism and muscle proteins contribute to the interaction between Aedes aegypti and dengue virus. It was confirmed that SAAG-4, histone H4, endoplasmin, catalase and other genes are involved in the regulation of DENV2 infection in Aedes aegypti. It was revealed that GST and Toll in salivary glands may have antagonistic effects on the regulation of DENV2 load. Fba, UcCr and Gbps1 in the midgut may increase DENV2 load. These study results further condensed the potential target gene range of the Aedes aegypti immune mechanism against DENV2 infection and provided basic information for research on the Aedes aegypti in vivo blockade strategy against DENV2.

The Potential Vector Competence and Overwintering of West Nile Virus in Vector Aedes Albopictus in China.

West Nile virus (WNV) is an arbovirus, which causes widespread zoonotic disease globally. In China, it was first isolated in Jiashi County, Kashgar Region, Xinjiang in 2011. Determining the vector competence of WNV infection has important implications for the control of disease outbreaks. Four geographical strains of Aedes Albopictus (Ae. Albopictus) in China were allowed to feed on artificial infectious blood meal with WNV to determine the infection and transmission rate. The results indicated that four strains of Ae. Albopictus mosquitoes could infect and transmit WNV to 1- to 3-day-old Leghorn chickens. The infection rates of different strains were ranged from 16.7 to 60.0% and were statistically different (χ2 = 12.81, p < 0.05). The highest infection rate was obtained from the Shanghai strain (60.0%). The transmission rates of Ae. Albopictus Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Chengdu strains were 28.6, 15.2, 13.3, and 6.7%, respectively. Furtherly, the results reveal that Ae. Albopictus Beijing strain infected orally can transmit WNV transovarially even the eggs are induced diapausing. The study confirmed that WNV could survive in the diapause eggs of Ae. Albopictus and could be transmitted to progeny after diapause termination. This is of great significance for clarifying that the WNV maintains its natural circulation in harsh environments through inter-epidemic seasons.

Effects of constant temperature and daily fluctuating temperature on the transovarial transmission and life cycle of Aedes albopictus infected with Zika virus.

Introduction: Numerous studies on the mosquito life cycle and transmission efficacy were performed under constant temperatures. Mosquito in wild, however, is not exposed to constant temperature but is faced with temperature variation on a daily basis. Methods: In the present study, the mosquito life cycle and Zika virus transmission efficiency were conducted at daily fluctuating temperatures and constant temperatures. Aedes albopictus was infected with the Zika virus orally. The oviposition and survival of the infected mosquitoes and hatching rate, the growth cycle of larvae at each stage, and the infection rate (IR) of the progeny mosquitoes were performed at two constant temperatures (23°C and 31°C) and a daily temperature range (DTR, 23-31°C). Results: It showed that the biological parameters of mosquitoes under DTR conditions were significantly different from that under constant temperatures. Mosquitoes in DTR survived longer, laid more eggs (mean number: 36.5 vs. 24.2), and had a higher hatching rate (72.3% vs. 46.5%) but a lower pupation rate (37.9% vs. 81.1%) and emergence rate (72.7% vs. 91.7%) than that in the high-temperature group (constant 31°C). When compared to the low-temperature group (constant 23°C), larvae mosquitoes in DTR developed faster (median days: 9 vs. 23.5) and adult mosquitoes carried higher Zika viral RNA load (median log10 RNA copies/µl: 5.28 vs. 3.86). However, the temperature or temperature pattern has no effect on transovarial transmission. Discussion: Those results indicated that there are significant differences between mosquito development and reproductive cycles under fluctuating and constant temperature conditions, and fluctuating temperature is more favorable for mosquitos' survival and reproduction. The data would support mapping and predicting the distribution of Aedes mosquitoes in the future and establishing an early warning system for Zika virus epidemics.

Probing changes in humus chemical characteristics in response to biochar addition and varying bulking agents during composting: A holistic multi-evidence-based approach.

Despite the various benefits of humus, the changes in its chemical characteristics during composting in response to biochar addition and varying bulking agents remain to be further explored. In this study, three treatments were conducted, in which swine manure, bulking agent, and biochar were mixed at ratios of 4:1:0, 8:1:0, and 8:1:1. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C-NMR), three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3D-EEM), and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) were employed to characterize the chemical and structural properties of humus from multiple perspectives. The 3D-EEM spectra in this study showed a larger increase in humic acids (HAs) content (56%) and HAs to fulvic acids ratio (128%) during composting, indicating stronger humification in biochar-amended treatment. FTIR, 13C-NMR, and NEXAFS all confirmed the essential properties of HA as the core agronomic functional substance with rich aromatic and carboxyl groups, and that its aromaticity increased gradually during composting. In addition, 13C-NMR demonstrated that biochar addition and a relatively higher bulking agent ratio aided an increase in the carboxyl C proportion in HA after composting. In particular, NEXAFS revealed that biochar addition promoted the diversification of C, N, and O species in HA, with the emergence of quinone C and O-alkyl C as the main representatives. This work suggests that biochar addition and a relatively high bulking agent ratio could enhance humification and improve the agronomic function of humus.

OX40 agonist combined with irreversible electroporation synergistically eradicates established tumors and drives systemic antitumor immune response in a syngeneic pancreatic cancer model.

In this study, we intended to explore a novel combination treatment scheme for pancreatic cancer, using irreversible electroporation (IRE) and OX40 agonist. We further aimed to investigate the capacity and mechanism of this combination treatment using an in vivo mouse aggressive pancreatic cancer model. To this end, mice subcutaneously injected with KPC1199 pancreatic tumor cells were treated with IRE, followed by intraperitoneal injection of OX40 agonist. Tumor growth and animal survival were observed. Flow cytometry analysis, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence were used to evaluate the immune cell populations within the tumors. The tumor-specific immunity was assessed using ELISpot assay. Besides, the cytokine patterns both in serum and tumors were identified using Luminex assay. After combination therapy with IRE and OX40 agonist, 80% of the mice completely eradicated the established subcutaneous tumors, during the 120 days observation period. Rechallenging these tumor-free mice at day 120 with KPC1199 tumor cells leads to complete resistance to tumor growth, suggesting that the combination therapy generated long-term-specific antitumor immune memory. Moreover, combination therapy significantly delayed the growth of contralateral untreated tumors, and significantly prolonged animal survival, suggesting that a potent systematic anti-tumor immunity was induced by combination therapy. Mechanically, combination therapy amplified antitumor immune response induced by IRE, as manifested by the increased quality and quantity of CD8+ T cells trigged by IRE. Together, these results provide strong evidence for the clinical assessment of the combination of IRE and OX40 agonist in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Fertilizer and pesticide reduction in cherry tomato production to achieve multiple environmental benefits in Guangxi, China.

Cherry tomatoes, as a highly profitable vegetable, consume a substantial amount of fertilizer and pesticide compared with other staple crops, which leads to remarkably negative environmental impacts. The optimization of these agricultural inputs to mitigate these environmental burdens and improve cherry tomato yield has drawn little attention. This study used life cycle assessment (LCA) combined with a field investigation to analyze the environmental benefits under optimized fertilizer and pesticide inputs (i.e., reduction of 24.7% nitrogen, 35.6% phosphorus pentoxide, 18.8% potassium oxide, 17.1% organic fertilizer, and 30.9% pesticides) compared to traditional farmer inputs. Results showed that: (1) compared to traditional farmer management, optimized inputs reduced the energy depletion by 24.7%, water depletion by 6.4%, global warming by 28.8%, acidification by 23.7%, aquatic eutrophication by 34.2%, human toxicity by 34.8%, aquatic eco-toxicity by 34.8%, and soil eco-toxicity by 26.7%, respectively; (2) among them, aquatic eco-toxicity and aquatic eutrophication were the major environmental impacts in cherry tomato production and were mainly attributed to chlorothalonil and phosphate fertilizer use, respectively; and (3) optimized inputs decreased the total environmental index and environmental damage cost by 33.8% and 28.1%, respectively, without compromising the yield. These findings provide insight into optimizing fertilizer and pesticide usage to alleviate multiple environmental impacts while maintaining cherry tomato yield and improving economic benefits. Further studies should focus mainly on less harmful pesticide utilization and phosphate use efficiency improvement, which may achieve vegetable production system sustainability in China and also provide a reference value for vegetable production systems in the Global South.

Dispersal patterns and population genetic structure of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in three different climatic regions of China.

BACKGROUND: Aedes albopictus is an indigenous primary vector for dengue and Zika viruses in China. Compared with its insecticide resistance, biology and vector competence, little is known about its genetic variation, which corresponds to environmental variations. Thus, the present study examines how Ae. albopictus varies among different climatic regions in China and deciphers its potential dispersal patterns. METHODS: The genetic variation and population structure of 17 Ae. albopictus populations collected from three climatic regions of China were investigated with 11 microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial coxI gene. RESULTS: Of 44 isolated microsatellite markers, 11 pairs were chosen for genotyping analysis and had an average PIC value of 0.713, representing high polymorphism. The number of alleles was high in each population, with the ne value increasing from the temperate region (3.876) to the tropical region (4.144). Twenty-five coxI haplotypes were detected, and the highest diversity was observed in the tropical region. The mean Ho value (ca. 0.557) of all the regions was significantly lower than the mean He value (ca. 0.684), with nearly all populations significantly departing from HWE and displaying significant population expansion (p value < 0.05). Two genetically isolated groups and three haplotype clades were evaluated via STRUCTURE and haplotype phylogenetic analyses, and the tropical populations were significantly isolated from those in the other regions. Most genetic variation in Ae. albopictus was detected within populations and individuals at 31.40 and 63.04%, respectively, via the AMOVA test, and a relatively significant positive correlation was observed among only the temperate populations via IBD analysis (R2 = 0.6614, p = 0.048). Recent dispersions were observed among different Ae. albopictus populations, and four major migration trends with high gene flow (Nm > 0.4) were reconstructed between the tropical region and the other two regions. Environmental factors, especially temperature and rainfall, may be the leading causes of genetic diversity in different climatic regions. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous dispersion contributes to the genetic communication of Ae. albopictus populations across different climatic regions, and environmental factors, especially temperature and rainfall, may be the leading causes of genetic variation.

Susceptibility of Armigeres subalbatus Coquillett (Diptera: Culicidae) to Zika virus through oral and urine infection.

BACKGROUND: Zika virus (ZIKV) disease outbreaks have been occurring in South America since 2015, and has spread to North America. Because birth defects and cases of Guillain Barré have been associated with infection with ZIKV, this has drawn global attention. ZIKV is generally considered an Aedes-transmitted pathogen. The transmission of ZIKV through blood by Aedes mosquito bites has been recognized as the major transmission route. However, it is not clear whether there are other transmission routes that can cause viral infection in mosquitos. The aim of the present study is to describe the susceptibility of Armigeres subalbatus, which often develop in human waste lagoons, to ZIKV, through oral infection in adult mosquitoes and urine infection in larvae. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Five-day-old female Ar. subalbatus ingested infectious blood meals containing ZIKV. After 4, 7, and 10 days of ingesting infectious blood meals, ZIKV could be detected in the midguts, salivary glands, ovaries, and collected saliva of mosquitoes. The ZIKV infection rate (IR) on day 10 reached 40% in salivary glands and 13% in saliva, indicating that these mosquitoes were able to transmit ZIKV. In addition, ZIKV infection was also discovered in mosquito ovaries, suggesting the possibility of vertical transmission of virus. Moreover, Ar. subalbatus transmitted ZIKV to infant mice bitten by infectious mosquitoes. In a second experiment, 1st-instar larvae of Ar. subalbatus were reared in water containing ZIKV and human urine. After pupation, pupae were placed in clean water and transferred to a mosquito cage for emergence. Although ZIKV RNA was detected in all of the larvae tested, ZIKV was not detected in the saliva of any adult Ar. subalbatus. Considering that there are more uncontrollable factors in nature than in the laboratory environment, the possibility that the virus is transmitted to adult mosquitoes via larvae is very small period. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Adult Ar. subalbatus could be infected with ZIKV and transmit ZIKV through mosquito bites. Therefore, in many rural areas in China and in undeveloped areas of other Asian countries, the management of human waste lagoons in the prevention and control of Zika disease should be considered. Corresponding adjustments and modifications should also be made in prevention and control strategies against ZIKV.

RNA interference of odorant receptor CquiOR114/117 affects blood-feeding behavior in Culex quinquefasciatus.

The odorant receptors (ORs) play a critical role for mosquitoes in the identification of blood-feeding hosts and other physiological processes. The OR8 subfamily in mosquitoes has been shown to be strongly involved in the detection the mammalian host associated odor, 1-octen-3-ol. CquiOR114/117 has been shown to be an orthologous OR8 in Culex quinquefasciatus Say. In this study, the expression of CquiOR114/117 in the different developmental stages of Cx. quinquefasciatus was detected by the amplification of CquiOR114/117 with real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RNA interference (RNAi) technology was used to interfere with the expression of CquiOR114/117 in females to observe the blood-feeding behavior change. The results showed that the expression level of CquiOR114/117 in the egg-to-pupa stage was significantly lower than that in the adult stage and that the expression level of the female mosquitoes peaked on the third day after emergence. The expression of CquiOR114/117 was significantly decreased in the 2-6 days after the injection of dsRNA compared with the control groups. The analysis of the blood-feeding behavior showed a significant positive correlation between CquiOR114/117 expression and the engorgement rate of the mosquitoes. CquiOR114/117 is speculated to have an effect on the blood-feeding behavior of Cx. quinquefasciatus.

The role of biochar in organic waste composting and soil improvement: A review.

Large amounts of organic wastes, which pose a severe threat to the environment, can be thermally pyrolyzed to produce biochar. Biochar has many potential uses owing to its unique physicochemical properties and attracts increasing attentions. Therefore, this review focuses on the agronomic functions of biochar used as compost additives and soil amendments. As a compost additive, biochar provides multiple benefits including improving composting performance and humification process, enhancing microbial activities, reducing greenhouse gas and NH4 emissions, immobilizing heavy metals and organic pollutants. As a soil amendment, biochar shows a good performance in improving soil properties and plant growth, alleviating drought and salinity stresses, interacting with heavy metals and organic pollutants and changing their fate of being uptaken from soils to plants. Furthermore, combined application of biochar and compost shows a good performance and a high agricultural value when applied to soils. Objectively and undeniably, there are still negative or ineffective cases of biochar amendment on crop yield and heavy metal immobilization, which is worthy of further attention. The medium-long term field monitoring of biochar-specific agricultural functions, as well as the exploration of wider sources for biochar feedstocks, are still needed.

Correction to: The polymorphism and geographical distribution of knockdown resistance of adult Anopheles sinensis populations in eastern China.

Please be advised that since publication of the original article [1] the authors have flagged that they omitted to provide the up-to-date version of Fig. 1 and, as such, the wrong version of Fig. 1 is present in the article.

The polymorphism and geographical distribution of knockdown resistance of adult Anopheles sinensis populations in eastern China.

BACKGROUND: Anopheles sinensis is one of the major malaria vectors in China and other southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand. Vector control is considered to be the critical measure for malaria control, while the increasing prevalence of insecticide resistance caused by long-term use of insecticides, especially pyrethroids, is threatening the successful control of An. sinensis. In order to understand the underlying resistance mechanisms involved and molecular basis, the principal malaria vector, An. sinensis from Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, Southeast China, was investigated. METHODS: The adult Anopheles mosquitoes were sampled from multiple sites across Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, and sufficient mosquitoes collected from eleven sites for insecticide susceptibility bioassays. The DIIS4-DIIS6 region of the para-type sodium channel gene was amplified and sequenced, then multiple PCR and Taqman assays were used to assess the frequencies of kdr mutations at the target gene. RESULTS: In the present study, most of the adult An. sinensis populations were pyrethroids resistant, which indicated the presence of kdr resistance mutations in the para-type sodium channel gene. Sequence analyses demonstrated the kdr mutation existed at codon 1014 in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. In adult An. sinensis, three mutant types (TTT L1014F, TTC L1014F, and TGT L1014C) of kdr alleles were detected, while no wild type (TTG L1014) was observed. The TTC L1014F mutation was first reported in Anhui province. CONCLUSIONS: The highly polymorphic kdr alleles were observed in all the adult An. sinensis populations, which suggested that in-depth studies are required for carrying on insecticide resistance monitoring and specific resistance mechanisms studying into establish effective long-term malaria vector control program in eastern China.

A 4-gene panel predicting the survival of patients with glioblastoma.

BACKGROUND: To identify independently prognostic gene panel in patients with glioblastoma (GBM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-GBM was used as a training set and a test set. GSE13041 was used as a validation set. Survival associated differentially expression genes (DEGs), derived between GBM and normal brain tissue, was obtained using univariate Cox proportional hazards regression model and then was included in a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator penalized Cox proportional hazards regression model. Thus, a 4-gene prognostic panel was developed based on the risk score for each patient in that model. The prognostic role of the 4-gene panel was validated using univariate and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: A total of 686 patients with GBM were included in our study; 724 DEGs was identified, 133 of which was significantly correlated with the overall survival (OS) of patients with GBM. A 4-gene panel including NMB, RTN1, GPC5, and epithelial membrane protein 3 (EMP3) was developed. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis suggested that patients in the 4-gene panel low risk group had significantly better OS than those in the 4-gene panel high risk group in the training set (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.3826; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.2751-0.532; P < 0.0001), test set (HR = 0.718; 95% CI: 0.5282-0.9759; P = 0.033) and the independent validation set (HR = 0.6898; 95% CI: 0.4872-0.9766; P = 0.035). Both univariate and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis suggested that the 4-gene panel was independent prognostic factor for GBM in the training set. CONCLUSION: We developed and validated 4-gene panel that was independently correlated with the survival of patients with GBM.

Humic substances developed during organic waste composting: Formation mechanisms, structural properties, and agronomic functions.

Aerobic composting is a typical biochemical process of stabilization and harmlessness of organic wastes during which organic matter degrades, and then aggregates, to produce humic substances (HSs). HSs are a core product of-and a crucial indicator of-the maturation of compost that can be used in soil amendments. The formation of HSs is affected by the characteristics of the raw materials involved, the presence of compost additives, microbial activity, temperature, pH, the C/N ratio, moisture content, oxygen content and particle size, all of which can interact with each other. The formation of HSs is therefore complex. Moreover, it is difficult to identify definitive structures of humic acids (HAs) and fulvic acids (FAs), which are the two major components of HSs. However, HSs represent the same functional groups and structural arrangements, which helps to predict their structures. Functional groups represented by phenol and carboxylic acid groups of HAs and FAs can provide various agronomic functions, such as plant growth enhancement, water and nutrient retention, and disease suppression capacity. Overall, HSs can act as a soil amendment, fertilizer, and plant growth regulator. These functions of HSs enhance the reuse potential of organic waste compost products; however, this requires scientific control of various composting parameters and appropriate application of final products.

Hydroxyapatite reduces potential Cadmium risk by amendment of sludge compost to turf-grass grown soil in a consecutive two-year study.

Recycling of sludge compost to soil as conditioner is generally regarded as the best means of disposal. However, concerns regarding heavy metal residues and sludge toxicity have recently received increasing public attention. Cadmium (Cd) is a mobile metal commonly found in sludge; therefore, the risk posed by Cd contaminated sludge should be carefully assessed. In this report, the effects of addition of hydroxyapatite (HAP) with sludge compost amendment on potential Cd risk were investigated. The results of consecutive two years showed that exchangeable Cd content in treatment of sludge compost with 1.5% HAP decreased by 6.0% compared with single sludge compost treatment, and residual Cd increased by 7.6%. Compared with single sludge compost, the incremental rate of exchangeable Cd dropped by 38.3% and the reductive rate of residual Cd increased by 37.7% in response to 1.5% HAP addition, indicating that HAP played a role of decreasing Cd phytoavailability. The HAP reduced the amount of Cd uptaken by turf-grass in both root and leaf. Moreover, HAP remarkably improved the quality of turf grass grown in amended soil, including leaf greenness, green maintainable period and root strength. However, HAP did not attenuate the downward mobility of Cd. Taken these together, these findings indicated that HAP can be used as a potential candidate to control surface Cd risk of sludge compost amended soil rather than that from leachate.

The efficacy and safety of olaparib in the treatment of cancers: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: PARP inhibition is an exciting new anticancer strategy. As the first PARP inhibitor approved for the treatment of advanced BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer, olaparib has proven to be effective in the treatment of several solid tumors. We performed a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of olaparib in cancer patients. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and oncology-conference proceedings were searched for relevant studies. End points were overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR), and grade 3/4 adverse events. Pooled hazard ratio (HR)/risk ratio (RR) and 95% CI were calculated using random or fixed-effect models. RESULTS: Eight trials involving 1,957 patients were ultimately identified. The pooled analysis demonstrated that olaparib treatment significantly improved PFS (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.47-0.82; P=0.001), OS (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.73-0.93; P=0.001), and ORR (RR 1.38, 95% CI 1.16-1.65; P<0.001) when compared with therapy not containing olaparib. This association was further confirmed by sensitivity analysis. Additionally, olaparib treatment offered a significant survival benefit for patients with BRCA mutation. Moreover, treatment with olaparib was associated with a significant increase in risk of severe anemia. CONCLUSION: Olaparib treatment has better treatment response compared with therapy not containing olaparib, whereas olaparib can increase the risk of severe anemia.